I moved back home. After one semester. And, to be honest, I couldn't be happier.
I thought college wasn't college unless you lived on campus with a roommate you've never met before. College was all about the college experience, living away from home, not having parents to answer to, an unbelievable amount of freedom. College was all about the independence. I couldn't wait to leave this town and finally be on my own.
The first month away at school was incredible. I was in love. Visiting home never crossed my mind. I didn't visit home until my mother's continuous pleads finally wore me down.
I don't know when everything changed for me, but it did. I remember everything being great and then everything being awful, no in between. I was miserable. I never left my room, expect to go to class. After class, I walked right back into my room, completed my homework and studying on my small dorm room desk, and crawled back into my bed that I wouldn't leave until it was time for the next morning's class. I cried every night for the next two months without fail. It became an accomplishment for me to even make to the library. I held back tears the whole time I was there, but I was proud I made it out of my room, let alone my bed.
Friday's just couldn't come fast enough. Every Friday at 12 pm, I made the two hour and 115 mile drive back home. And every Sunday at 10 am, which happened to come too quickly, I made the same trip back to school.
Somewhere along the way, I decided moving back home was best for me. I transferred to Elms College for the upcoming spring semester and was lucky enough to be accepted into their nursing program. I can honestly say moving back home is the best decision I have made.
When the transfer back home happened, I knew some of my friends were looking down on me, silently judging and thinking how I couldn't make it. I realized that it is OK. It is OK I moved back home and I have nothing to be ashamed about. The typical "college experience" is not for everybody. The comforts of home: my own room, my animals, my parents, and my best friend have helped me to realize that everything I was trying to escape, was actually right where I was supposed to be.
College is not about the limitless freedom, it is about finding yourself.
